


like a hook into an eye

by possibilityleft



Category: The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Genre: Christmas, Extra Treat, F/M, Four or five skeleton children, Happy Ending, Kid Fic, Knitting, Post-Canon, Seasonal, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:02:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26657077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/possibilityleft/pseuds/possibilityleft
Summary: It was 310 days until Halloween.  It was Christmas.
Relationships: Sally/Jack Skellington
Comments: 14
Kudos: 45
Collections: Trick or Treat Exchange 2020





	like a hook into an eye

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dreamiflame](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamiflame/gifts).



"You must go to sleep," Sally said, tucking the ripped blanket over the boys. Their empty eyesockets gleamed with mischief. She kissed each forehead.

"You must go to sleep so that Sandy Claws will come," she continued, with gentle force, and they shut their eyes immediately and performatively. She patted the tattered mattress and stood. The elder one opened an eye to see if she was looking, and then shut it again when he saw she was.

"Be-- still," she said, because she still couldn't get used to saying, 'be good.'

*

Jack had already settled the baby into the spiderweb crib next to their crooked bed. The baby didn't stir when Sally appeared, but Jack still put his finger to his mouth to shush her. Then he smiled. She saw very well in the dimness -- everyone in Halloween Town did, after all -- but even if she didn't, there was the crescent moonlight spilling into the room to guide her. She climbed into bed next to him. Zero was already settled at their feet, a barely visible whisp who gave a doggy sigh.

"Did you--?" Sally asked, but Jack was nodding already.

"They'd never let me forget," he said, with a quiet laugh.

There was a brown, leaning evergreen in the corner of their living room, shedding needles onto the floor, and underneath it there were three carefully wrapped gifts. The baby was still too little to understand, but the boys knew about tomorrow's date for sure.

It was 310 days until Halloween. It was Christmas.

Sally reached under the bed and the lurking monster handed her knitting bag to her. It was Howl watching over them tonight. She patted his soft black fur before twisting back around in the bed, tucking a pillow under her back, and pulling out her needles.

*

If you asked someone in Halloween Town where children came from, you'd get a lot of different answers. Mother Werewolf would show you her newest pups, and Gristle the zombie would show you where to dig. The Pumpkin Heads were a bit shy, and didn't let anyone into their orchards, but there were new Pumpkin Heads each October, lovingly carved.

How did a skeleton and a ragdoll have a child? Sally knitted together tiny bones one by one, and eventually, well, Halloween Town was full of magic. She and Jack would give the child a name, and then, when the moon was right, there'd be a new, tiny scream.

*

Sally didn't knit for too long that night. It was Christmas Eve, after all, and although she'd never really understood Jack's affinity for it, she loved his enthusiasm. In the morning, he'd put on the Sandy Claws getup and tell the story again, just like he did every year. The boys would open their gifts and he'd probably have something for her too, even though she always said she didn't need presents. She had everything she needed, everything she wanted: her own family, her own home, a graveyard to walk through, her freedom.

But Sally was a very practical woman, and she'd never turn down good thread.


End file.
